Maybe You're Not All The Same
by AmaranthEternity
Summary: Elena is forcefully taken to the bar by Reno and Rude, where they spend some quality time and Elena drowns sorrows of Tseng. However, she soon meets with someone unexpected who also aims to free himself of memories concerning unrequited love.
1. Chapter 1

**Don't you worry: I havn't forgotten about my other story which is still in progress! I just thought I'd take a little break while I think, and maybe do another little story that doesn't seem so...'tragic' and serious! Here it is: anyone care to guess my favourite Final Fantasy VII pairing? Go on: I dare you! :D**

**This is a nice little short one, so there probably won't be any sad moments in this one! Go ahead and enjoy.**

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Her shift had ended, but she had a feeling that her work wasn't quite over for the day yet:

"Five...four...three...two...one..." the young blonde counted down, looking up at the door of the office just in time to see Reno stumbling in, an almost cheshire-cat-like grin spreading across his lips from the moment he had laid eyes on her. Within a matter of seconds, Rude also entered, and taken his place by Reno's side. As always, Rude was the exact opposite of Reno: mysterious, tidy, quiet and...well..._bald_, whereas Reno was easy to read (most of the time, anyway) scruffy (it was almost as though he feared organisation of any description), loud (there was nowhere within the ShinRa building where it was at all possible to escape the sound of his voice...and even when you had left the building, it is likely that his voice would still be ringing loud and clearly in your ears), and it only took one glance at his head to see how hairy he was. Sometimes Elena couldn't help but wonder if he had grown that mane himself, or if he had stolen pieces of hair from other people (and possibly animals), put it all together and assembled a freakish wig of some sort. In any case: as soon as the word 'one' had left her lips, the two men had approached her '_Right on time...' _Elena thought to herself, appearing amused but also inwardly dreading what kind of proposition Reno had in mind that would make him grin like that. Well, she was about to find out, it seemed...whether she wished to or not.

"Laneyyyyyy, my dear!" the redhead called, his arms outstretched as though expecting a hug as he approached her. Hesitantly, Elena opened her arms to return the incoming hug, only to find that Reno changed his position as he came closer, and simply ruffled her hair instead. "Hey, soft as ever!" he joked, giving her a flash of that infuriating smile. Removing his hand from her head, he placed both hands on his skinny hips and simply gazed at her in a rather enthusiastic way, Rude standing a little ways behind him as stoic as ever.

"Fine, fine, fine. What do you want...?" she questioned, her suspicion of the situation quite obvious. Right now, she was still rather bitter due to the fact that her efforts at attracting Tseng's attention had again, gone unnoticed. Elena was well aware that Reno knew of this, and only hoped (for the sake of his health) that he hadn't come to play a cheap trick on her, or tease her about it. She knew him well, and with that came the knowledge that taunting (however strong or mild it may be) was to be expected. "If you've come to make fun of me, you know what the consequences are, don't you...?" she muttered, narrowing her eyes a fraction at her co-workers, her mildly cold stare flicking from one man to the other. "So?" she eventually asked, now rather keen to get an answer out of the men so that she could leave this place and just go home.

"As impatient as ever, aren't you? Aww...well, what d'ya think Rude? We tell her now? Or make her guess and watch her go insane?"

"..." The stern glare of the tall man which was accompanied by the quirk of his eyebrow obviously knocked any of the more sadistic ideas Reno had straight from his mind, and an apologetic expression graced the redhead's face for only a few seconds, before the more 'devilish' side of him awoke once more, and his gaze returned to meet the cold stare of Elena's.

"My buddy and I have decided: we'll just tell ya outright." he announced rather proudly, clasping his hands together as his bright eyes clashed against Elena's honet-coloured eyes. "Bar time! You're comin' with us! No excuses! I know what you've been through today, babe, and those sorrows of yours could do with a good drowning! Come on, rookie!" Before Elena was even given the chance to give a reply such as: 'I'd rather jump out the window!', a mischevious glint had appeared within the redheaded man's eyes, and Elena did not notice this until it was too late. "Ready?" It wasn't a question to Elena, but to Rude. With that said, he grabbed one of Elena's arms, and Rude seized the other. It seemed that they had been planning this, as the two men nodded to eachother once, before forcing Elena to begin moving, manouvering out of the office and towards the elevator. As they waited at the dull silver doors, Reno drowned out Elena's weak protests and struggles with a loud statement of: "You'll thank me for this later!"  
They stood in wait, Rude and Reno exchanging odd glances every so often as they tried to restrain the struggling female Turk. "Man, this is taking a long time...shoulda taken the stairs, eh, buddy?" he asked, followed by his usual amused little snigger. Really there wasn't much funny about the statement, but he had amused himself at least, so that was the important thing. When the elevator finally arrived, Elena was forced inside, shortly followed by Reno and Rude, neither of whom seemed to have any regrets or feelings of guilt about pushing her around like that.

"Y-...you can't do this to me!" Elena protested, as she was finally dragged from the elevator, and taken from the ShinRa building by her two co-workers. "Don't you remember what happened in Wutai?! The last time I came to the bar with you, I got kidnapped!"

"Yeah! Because you left, and went wandering around on your own! You'll just have to learn to stay inside bars where it's nice and safe when there are sleazy men running around without leashes...I promise you, babe: you're going to enjoy this."


	2. Chapter 2

**Here we go: chapter 2. Any typos may be due to the fact that my monitor is currently deciding to go all bizarre on me, so I apologize. Anyhow: enjoy!**

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Well, they had done it. They had somehow managed to drag her quite literally kicking and screaming through the doors of their favourite bar, and didn't even release her when they had sat her down on one of the few empty bar stools within this buzzing, busy building. She had to admit that her arms really were aching now, and she was tired from all of the fighting and struggling that she had been doing. All she wanted to do was go home and sleep...was that really such a crime?

"Ok, I'm here now. Satisfied? I'm really not in the mood for drinking...or even seeing anyone right now, so... can I go home now? Please?" Elena asked rather pitifully, sighing as she bowed her head, her hair falling across her face as though trying to hide it. However, Reno showed no mercy. It seemed that he was determined to make Elena drink something, whether she wished to or not. The fact that Reno had bothered to bring his weapon with him didn't exactly make Elena feel much happier, either.

"No way, rookie." Reno replied firmly, before going ahead and ordering a round of drinks for the three of them. As he did so, he nudged Rude with his foot (as the two men were still holding Elena to stop any possible attempts of escape that she may have wanted to try) and shrugged, before pointing to the barmaid with his free hand (It was his little way of saying something along the lines of: _'Can you lend me money? By 'lend,' I mean 'donate' of course, because I'm really broke right now, but I really wanna have that girl later_.' ) to which the quiet man only shook his head, reluctantly parting with some gil in order to help his friend. However, this was not done without a quiet, almost mocking chuckle which seemed to say: _'In your dreams you'll have her, Reno. You're definitely paying me back later.'_ The moment the coins left his hand and clattered to the counter, Rude's gaze drifted over to Elena and lingered for a few moments. Perhaps he felt guilty? No, that was impossible, wasn't it? Well, even if he were feeling guilty, he would probably never show it clearly enough for anybody else to see. After a while, the light tinkling sound of the little brass bell over the door of the bar caught Rude's attention, and a feeling of amusement came to Rude. _'Speaking of owing people...' _he thought as the man entered the bar. Of course he knew him. Vincent Valentine, wasn't it? Well, this was certainly a surprise...the man, quiet and mysterious like himself was definitely not someone that he had expected to ever meet here. He remembered how he had heard of the man rescuing Tseng and Elena from the torturous clutches of the silver haired trio all those years ago, and Rude couldn't help but wonder what he was doing here when he could be out doing something much more worthwhile, say...saving the world again? He chuckled, and shook his head at that thought, his gaze meeting the senior ex-Turk's for only a few moments, before the two men nodded, and turned their attentions elsewhere. Rude turned back to face his co-workers, ,(in an attempt to pull them out of the argument that they had gotten themselves into) whereas Vincent disappeared amongst the crowd of people within the bar, almost as though he were nothing more than a crimson shadow. They would meet again, of course...if the two stoic characters had taken anything from that single glance; it was that thought, unknown to the other two squabbling Turks.

"Rufus was in on this whole thing, babe! You see? Even Mr. President wants you to sit yourself down and-..." He was trying to reason with the young blonde beside him, but it seemed that his attempts had gone to waste the moment that her mouth opened, as she cut his sentence short.

"Get drunk?! Get drunk, so you can take advantage of me later?!Maybe even something worse: God only knows what you've got in mind!" She stopped only to take a breath before continuing with her rant. " Excuse me for doubting someone of a higher rank than me but somehow, that doesn't quite sound like one of the President's plans!" Once again, she only paused, wrenching her arrms free from Reno's and Rude's grip. (This job was much easier, due to the fact that both of the men had been distracted: Rude by Vincent, and Reno by Elena's arguing.) Getting to her feet, she rubbed her sore wrists, glaring at Reno angrily. "Reno, I'm tired! I'm annoyed! I'm worn out! You are not helping in the least! You think this is professional?!" she demanded, her hands now on her hips, and her eyebrow raised in questioning. "Sure, you're off work now, but is this really how you should be spending your time?"

"I spend my time how I like, rookie!" Reno argued, also getting to his feet and slowly approachiung Elena, the look of joy now gone from his pale face to be replaced by impatience. "I'm only tryin' to help you. If you can't appreciate that, fine. I don't give a damn. Also: sure, you're a damn fine girl, but you can't accuse me of bein' some kind of sexual predator!" he snapped, He would have gone further, had Rude not stood up to intervene before either of the arguing Turks decided to take out their weapons...it would be an especially bad thing if they did so here in a packed, public place. "..." Holding up one hand, he shook his head as if to say: '_Stop right now.'_

"But! But! Gahhh..." Reno tried to argue, but found himself unable to against that stoic expression that Rude held at that moment. Turning to Elena, he gave a simple nod, before finally choosing to speak. "Elena-..." he began. However, as expected, the young blonde refused to listen to anyone right now. She wasn't angry, but she was definitely frsutrated and irritated.

"I'm fine, Rude! I know you don't like speaking so much, so you don't have to force it! " Elena began, interrupting Rude's sentence as she was so used to doing. When Rude's gaze fell to the ground in slight worry or perhaps disappointment, the young blonde reached up, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, immediately drawing his attention to her. "It's fine." she repeated with a quick nod. However, her gaze soon met Reno's and her hand slipped from Rude's shoulder in order to become a clenched fist by her side. "But you!"

"Me? You mean the person who was lookin' out for you? Who wanted to make you feel better?" Reno asked, getting rather irritated at Elena's behaviour right now.

"Yes, you! There is a warm bed waiting for me at my house! Don't even think about getting in the way of it, else you really will regret it! I'm going home...I'll see you tomorro-..." She had moved to turn around, but instead, had bumped into someone who had been standing behind her chair. By taking a step away; she had collided with the man. Her face flushed in embarrassment, and her eyes narrowed as she glared up at the stranger, only to find a pair of coldd crimson eyes there to meet her angered gaze. His hands were now placed on her shoulders to steady her, and he said nothing as she only stared, now wide eyed in surprise at him.

"V-...Valentine!" she stammered in shock, hastily pulling away from his light hold on her. "Um...ahahaha..." she laughed nervously, before turning back towards Reno and Rude, racing over to them and grabbing their hands, almost pleading: "Hide me! Hide me! Hide me...!!"

"I refuse..." Reno replied with a sadistic grin on his lips. "Because you told me not to 'get in the way of your warm bed at home', didn't you, Laney? I'd say this counts as getting in the way." He loved every second of this new theatre of embarrassment which seemed to have opened up before him. "Let the show go on..." he teased, placing one hand against Elena's shoulder and pushing her towards Vincent again. Giving the dark haired man a small wave,;he then turned back to the bar, eagerly beginning on the drinks rthat had finally been placed in front of him. He looked to the right from the corner of his eye when he heard a crashing noise, and his grin widened. What had happened to amuse him so? Well, when he had pushed Elena away, she had somehow managed to fall back, and stumble over the bar-stool, falling to the ground and bringing the stool down with her. "She's gonna start to hate bars, eh buddy? First time she comes to a bar, she gets kidnapped by some womaniser, and this time...well...see for yourself!" Rude glanced down at the scene which Reno motioned to, and he then stood up to help, only to have Reno force him back to sit in his chair again. "Leave her." Reno ordered, shaking his head. "The scene's just getting good." It wasn't that he didn't care about Elena, it was just that...well...he recognised this kind of 'typical-romance-comedy-movie-scene' style situation, and thought it better to leave well alone. Sure, Elena might kill him for it, but if things were going the way that he sensed they were, then it would be worth it when considering her happiness. Besides: she would then be forced to shower him with praise and thanks, wouldn't she? With this thought in mind, Reno grinned, nodding a few times as he took another gulp of his drink, setting the glass down with a quiet thump. "Yeah...leave 'em to it, buddy..."

Embarrassed, she sat up, pushing the bar stool off of her and looking up at Vincent, only to find that he was crouched by her side, a look of concern on his face. "Are...you alright?" he questioned, one eyebrow slightly raised. It was almost as though he was slightly amused by the whole thing, but Elena tried to ignore that thought. She still saw him as a person who couldn't show humor, no matter how hard he tried. All the better for him, really...well, when considering the fact that she wanted to shoot just about everyone who had laughed just then. Clearing her throat, she hastily got to her feet, setting the bar stool right and nodding a few times in response to his question. "Are you sure?" he asked once more.

"Of course, I'm fine!" she insisted, her cheeks a dark red in colour now due to the blush of humiliation which had settled there. "I...I did that on purpose!"

"...Why...?" he asked, apparently not believing a single word. "I think...maybe you've had enough...?" he suggested, nodding towards the empty glasses which Reno had assembled around the area where Elena had been sitting.

"WHAT?!" she demanded, her blush deepening, and rage flashing in her eyes as she realised what he was referring to. Her anger intensified when she heard the loud: "HA!!" that Reno let out upon hearing what Vincent had said. "Ohhhh, Reno...you are so...dead..." she hissed through gritted teeth, her fists tightening, and her body trembling in rage. "I have not 'had enough.'.. she snarled bitterly, glancing at Vincent, her bad mood showing itself extremely obviously now. "You don't know a damned thing! Not a damned thing! If you did, you'd know that the drunkard is sitting right over there!" With that, she pointed at Reno, before looking away from Vincent, folding her arms across her chest as though she were trying to hide herself from him.

"I realise that, Elena..." Vincent muttered in response, his crimson eyes gaining a look that appeared almost apologetic. Reaching out, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder (ignoring the fact that she flinched when he did so) and continued: "...I was trying to lighten the mood...well..._yours_. I apologize, Elena."  
This shocked her a little. Valentine? Lightening the mood? What was the world coming to?

"No, um...it's ok. I mean...you're forgiven!" Elena replied, feeling a little guilty for snapping at him like that. "Um...what...were you doing there? I mean: why were you standing behind me like that?" It had creeped her out a bit, she had to admit. However, she was sure (at least...she hoped) that he had a good reason for doing it. When he didn't answer right away, Elena began to get a little impatient, but did her best not to show this.

"...I...wanted to see you again." Vincent muttered in response, before nodding once as though to say farewell, and turning, walking away towards the exit. It seemed that being forced to answer a question such as that (especially with that answer) had embarrassed him. Well, Elena was shocked, too. She stood there, trying to figure out if she had truly heard him correctly. "Wanted...to see me?" she repeated under her breath. "Why?" she asked herself, watching as Vincent left the bar, shutting the door behind him. Without even thinking, Elena found herself pushing past everyone who stood in her way as she fought to follow him. Reaching the door, she hurried through it, only to find herself alone in the night. The figure that she was following had almost melted into the darkness, it seemed, as he was nowhere in sight. Gazing up at the night's sky, she simply stared at the full round, glowing moon, which shone above her. Maybe she would meet him another night? For now, that nice warm bed at home was calling out to her...and a warm drink wouldn't be unappreciated either. With her hands in her pockets and her head hung low, the young blonde began on her way home, eager to get some rest, and spend the night alone. However, she had no idea that things were not going to go exactly according to her little plan...


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow...it's like a flashback of English lessons all over again. And here I thought that was my strongest subject...**

**I want to say thanks for the literacy lesson..._that_ wasn't humiliating at all...but I appreciate the constructive criticism nonetheless, and thank you for the positive feedback given. I realise you are only trying to help me...I hope. I'll keep what you have said in mind, should I choose to continue now. Somehow, I don't feel quite so enthusiastic anymore.**

**To explain the typos: I do what I can, and I'm usually focussing on other things as well when writing chapters...additionally, ****I don't _usually_ make mistakes. It_ happens_ when you speed type...besides, I really don't like re-reading the chapters. I find it embarrassing, as I have great doubt in my ability as it is, and I pretty much cringe when reading my own work. That is probably why there are mistakes lurking in there. (P.S. I know it was 'took his place'. I don't know why it came out 'taken.') In any case, I hope you have enjoyed it. **

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"Perhaps...that was the wrong answer to give...?" he pondered idly as he gazed down at the empty street below from where he was sitting on the tilted roof of a two-storey house. "Perhaps..." he repeated softly, giving a gentle sigh as his crimson eyes slid closed for only a few moments. '_But...I did wish to see her...' _he couldn't help but think to himself, a small, sorrowful smile gracing his pale, thin lips as he thought about her. '_One might say that I miss her...somewhat.' _Vincent hadn't quite adjusted to that idea. Somehow, it didn't seem right. Elena had been a former enemy, once upon a time...but once upon a time had been years ago. Perhaps he was over-thinking things? Maybe this was delusion of some sort, resulting from a lack of sleep. _'Besides...it is..only natural to be worried about someone you have rescued...right?_' The light tinkling of the brass bell over the bar door soon woke him from his thoughts, and he sighed, getting to his feet slowly, a gentle breeze blowing his dark crimson cape and long dark hair around as he turned, and began jumping from rooftop to rooftop, on his way to nowhere. What good would come from staying in this place any longer? The only reason that he had entered the place to begin with was to check on Elena... and also, perhaps...to rid himself of any lingering memories of _her_. Lucrecia. But in the end, he knew all too well that such a thing was futile. Perhaps that was for the best. He was slowly getting over her, but it seemed wrong to try to erase her from his memory altogether...even after all she had done...no...what he had done... "I'm not getting into this again..." he growled softly under his breath, determined not to be dragged down by haunting memories and nightmares once more. She was gone now...there was nothing he could do about it. He knew that he had to accept it, but it was difficult, and painful.

Some time later, the sound of someone walking below him caught his attention. In truth, that sound had been following his route for quite some time now, but he had tried to pay no mind to it. His curiosity got the better of him, and his garnet eyes were drawn to the individual walking below. He was rather surprised when the person was identified. So surprised in fact, that he had to stop moving in order to get a better look, just to make sure he had not made a mistake.

The young blonde walking down below was dressed in full Turk uniform, her figure almost completely swallowed by the night, but still recognisable. She had been the one following him, and he had failed to notice? So had she, it seemed, as her attention appeared to be on the ground, and not the rooftops. How would she possibly know that she was so close to him? Just like he had failed to realise just how close he was to her. His mind debated whether or not it would be a good idea for Vincent to reveal his hiding place, and show himself. But then...she had appeared reluctant to speak with him in the bar...

Turning, the blonde Turk came to a stop, rooting in her pocket for something. The male watched, crouching over the roof of the building, and gazing down at her in curiosity. When she took out her keys and put them in the lock of the door, it seemed that she sensed something, as she froze, her free hand moving to take the gun from her holster, her gaze wandering around, before suddenly darting to the rooftops. He knew that she had sensed him, but had reacted too late. The moment that he had jumped back to hide in the shadows, he heard the sound of a gun being fired, wincing as he felt the bullet graze his shoulder. Vincent could only hope that Elena didn't realise that it was him that she had fired that warning shot at.

"Show yourself! As a Turk, I order you!" her voice commanded, cutting the silence of the peaceful night like a knife. It seemed that the male had no choice. It stung to move his injured arm, but he managed to push himself up, and get to his feet, before crouching down and leaping from the rooftop. With a flicker of crimson material, he was behind her, glancing at her as calmly as was possible.

"You called...?" he murmured, his voice as quiet and rough as ever. Even with a voice such as his, he had managed to shock Elena. Maybe she was already quite shaken from their previous encounter at the bar, though.

"Valentine! What-...what were you...doing there?!" she demanded, trying her best to keep her voice level and disguise the fact that it was shaking somewhat. Eventually, she remembered the gun that she held in her hands, and hastily returned it to the holster at her hip in order to show that she didn't want to appear a threat to him. "Why the hell were you on my roof...? Were you following me?!" she then questioned, giving the male no opportunity to respond to her previous questions...or her most recent ones, as she then asked: "Are you bleeding...?" If he hadn't thought this overly-talkative quality of hers to be somewhat adorable, he could have gotten annoyed by it rather quickly. But not with Elena. It seemed impossible to get irritated with her. Well...for Vincent, anyway.

"Calm down..." Vincent ordered softly, before Elena was given the chance to ask any more questions. When he was sure that she had calmed at least a little, he went on to explain: "I wasn't stalking you...we just...happened to be on the same route without being aware of the other's presence." He paused for a moment, before an almost unnoticable smirk came to his lips, and he added: "Then again,I may have been walking you home...in my own subtle way..."

"O-...oh...haha..." Elena stammered nervously. It was obvious that his presence made her uneasy, by the fact that she was trying to gain some distance from him. As a result, she was standing with her back pressed up against the door, an uncomfortable look on her face. It wasn't that she didn't want him there, it was just that something about him creeped her out a bit. It had always been that way, even after he had rescued she and Tseng from the torture that they were suffering within the Northern Crater. "Um...if...if you were walking me home, don't...do it like that again. It was, um...cr-..."

"Creepy?" Vincent interrupted her, finishing her sentence for her as he took a step towards her, and leant in closer to Elena so that one hand was resting against the door, right next to her head. His hand was so close to the side of her head, that a couple of blonde strands of her hair were trapped beneath his leather glove. Leaning fowards a little more, he moved his face close to hers, pressing his forehead against hers in order to get a better look into her eyes as he asked: "You...aren't very fond of me, are you...?" purring in a voice which was only just above a whisper. Their lips were so close --mere centimeters apart-- that Elena could feel Vincent's warm breath tickling her lips, causing her to let out a soft whimper, as she was unsure of how to react. That question...how was she supposed to answer that? Apparently she didn't have to think about that one for too long, as the male soon spoke again, moving even closer to her, which caused her to tremble, her heartbeat quickening as she felt his nose against her cheek as he now whispered to her ear: "It hurts me, Elena..." Her honey-coloured eyes were wide now, but all she could see was his long, sleek, dark hair which blocked her view of much else, save for the crimson cape which covered his shoulder. She couldn't help but notice that the material across his right shoulder was ripped, and revealed some blood flowing down his shoulder towards his chest. This worried her, but right now, she was having difficulty forming words due to the shock resulting from being so close to him.  
He paused only to move his free hand in order to place it against her hip as he continued, tightening his grip by a fraction when he felt her tremble more than before: "A shame, really...because..._I_ am rather fond of _you_..." He couldn't explain his behaviour right now...what had come over him? Since when had he been so confident when speakin to a woman in this way? He didn't care much in that moment, regardless of how much he was frightening Elena. Moving his face to see hers, his smirk grew somewhat when he realised just how wide her eyes were. "Have I shocked you...?" Vincent questioned, soon moving away from her completely, never taking his eyes off of her. However, when he realised just how frightened she seemed by his actions, he sighed, shaking his head and turning away. as though he were unable to look at her. "I...apologise. That-..."

His apology was soon cut short by Elena, who had now managed to piece together a sentence: "Um...would you, uh...like to come in?" It seemed that neither of them had been expecting that question to be brought up, as Elena's eyes became wide in surprise once more, and her hands moved to cover her mouth as soon as she had spoken, almost as though she couldn't quite believe what she had said.

"...Yes..."


	4. Chapter 4

**After a long think, I'm back again. For several reasons, I have decided to continue with this project, regardless of my doubt in my ability. I figure that the only way from here is up, regardless of how good or bad you might think my skills are. My resolution since my 17th birthday recently has been to be more determined, to try harder, never give up and to see things through to the end. I also want to improve things, so I might tweak "The Killing Moon" a bit here and there, I might redo some of the chapters that I am unhappy with, and I may even include a bonus, alternative ending. Please give me your opinions! **

**Please enjoy.**

He had been watching her reactions carefully, even though she had been the one to ask the question to begin with. As soon as he had spoken the word 'yes', she had seemed more uneasy around him than ever, and after a momentary awkward silence, had somewhat reluctantly opened the door of her home and allowed him to enter. Although she had invited him to sit and to 'make himself at home' (albeit in a rather unconvincing attempt at faking happiness.) It was all too obvious that he was making her uneasy just by being there, and in truth: it was making him uncomfortable to see her so uncomfortable.

As he watched her walk through to the kitchen, breathing a heavy sigh as she made some drinks and such, he shook his head and tried his best to pretend not to notice how edgy she seemed around him. When Elena eventually returned to him, she managed a small, near invisible smile as she sat down in one of the chairs in the room, warily watching Vincent from the corner of her eye. She didn't exactly fear him, yet she couldn't help but feel nervous whenever he was near. Perhaps it was just that aura of mystery that surrounded him...or perhaps she just wasn't very trusting of unpredictable men with guns. On top of that, how could she forget the beasts which dwelled within him? She couldn't help but shudder at the very memory of those bizarre creatures. Her shudder had not gone unnoticed, however. The blonde looked up to see the subtle suffering and disappointment expressed by the raven haired male's face. Had it been her actions and reactions to him that had caused such an expression? If that was the case, then it unfortunately wasn't something that she could control so easily. "I-...I didn't mean to!" she suddenly stated, slowly building up the courage to glance up at the mysterious male.

Vincent was confused by that outburst, and garnet met honey as the male and female gazed at each other in silence for a few moments. He spoke first. Raising a single eyebrow, the gunslinger folded his arms across his chest and pulled his gaze away from hers, breaking their eye contact as he stood there, calmly murmuring: "...I don't seem to recall accusing you of anything, Elena..."

"You didn't _have_ to accuse me of anything. The look on your face was enough to tell me that something's up!" she explained, getting up out of her chair with a sigh, and hesitating before carefully approaching him. The blood on his shoulder caught her eye, and when she remembered how that blood had got there in the first place, she couldn't help but feel a sharp pang of guilt beneath the nerves that were consuming her. "Wait." she ordered, turning and heading out the room, leaving the raven haired man alone with his thoughts, which she would never have guessed were all only on her. He didn't understand it himself, truthfully.

The wooden door creaked open again as she re-entered, carrying a first-aid kit with her. Holding it out to him, she smiled a bit more when he took it, and he reluctantly took a seat in one of the chairs as he began to treat his wound. Elena watched as he did so, slowly adjusting to his presence in the room. Maybe that was one of the possibly vast amount of reasons why she felt uneasy around him: she just wasn't used to having him around. For the time being, she just felt a fraction more comfortable with him. At least, comfortable enough to approach the chair that he was sitting in, and to sit down on the edge of the chair's arm. He, too felt somewhat happier when she did this, but merely pretended not to notice her presence. He felt that perhaps it would be better if he didn't make a bg deal out of it, and so casually continued to treat his wounds, feeling a faint warmth within his heart as Elena sat so close. Perhaps, over time she would adjust to him and become more friendly and warm towards him...perhaps one day he would be able to bring himself to do the same for her. Only time would tell.


End file.
